Thierry Henry praises Luis Suárez, says he is the player Barcelona needed

Luis Suárez is now firmly established as a vital part of Barcelona's scheme. He's the striker that the Blaugrana haven't had in a while, the guy who gets the attention from the defense and opens space for Lionel Messi, while doing his own things and scoring lots of goals -- eleven in his last eleven games, in fact.

The importance of Luisito in Barça's system is comparable to the role Thierry Henry had with the Catalans during his tenure with the Blaugrana. Henry, a living football legend, was a piece of the threesome attack alongside Samuel Eto'o and Messi that wreaked havoc on everybody and won a Champions League title in 2009.

The now Sky Sports analyst is still very interested in what's going on at Camp Nou, and he commented on the spectacular 3-1 win Barça had against Paris Saint-Germain last Wednesday. Henry highlighted how big Luis Suárez has been for Luis Enrique's club, and he praised the Uruguayan for being exactly the guy Barcelona needed to return to the glory days. Here's what he had to say:

"For me, he is a No 9 I like to see. He goes into the channel, he will hold the ball at times.

"For the first goal he went into the channel, held it, pure strength. The second one, he drops, plays a one-two and goes behind.

"He’s always available. He’s always looking to go behind and they now have a proper No 9.

"In my Barca team we had that with me and Samuel Eto’o. They knew we would always ask for the ball in behind, and therefore Leo could encounter space in that false nine role.

"They’ve gone back into that. Why? Because they have one guy we’ve been talking about all night, and that’s Suarez.

"Him being in that position will allow everybody to play better. They went to Leo on the right and Neymar on the left, but they have that No 9 they didn’t have for a long time."

That's some high praise from one of the best strikers of our generation, right? Henry also thinks the quarter-final tie between Barça and PSG is pretty much over after the first leg result:

"I don’t see them going to the Nou Camp and winning by three goals. Anything can happen in the game, but I just don’t see that happening, especially against Barca."

We miss you, Henry. Thankfully for us, Suárez is there to fill your role.